Only half of Black families own their home in Washington, DC, which has the highest Black homeownership rate in the U.S., versus more than 70% of white families. Nationwide, the gap is 44% versus 73.7%.

Just 44% of Black families own the home they live in as of the first quarter of 2020, up from 41.1% in the first quarter of 2019, an increase that may reverse as the coronavirus pandemic upends one of the “most promising economies in recent memory” for Black Americans. For white families, the national homeownership rate is 73.7%, up slightly from 73.2% in

Public auctions and open for inspections have been banned once again in Melbourne’s coronavirus hotspots.

In a blow to the property industry, public sales will be canned in the affected areas from Thursday as stage three government restrictions are reinstated until at least July 29.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Leah Calnan said the peak industry body was still waiting to confirm with the Premier’s office the finer details of how real estate would be affected.

But stage three restrictions meant vendors in the 10 affected postcodes would have to revert auctions online or change to a private sale,

Celebrity chef Geoff Jansz and wife Angella have pocketed $1 million after selling off a slice of their Southern Highlands estate.

The couple, who bought an impressive 4.6ha holding of land in Burradoo in 1994 for $670,000, sold the acre of land to ChristopherandChloe Ahern, in a sale that has links to Jansz’s former days as a television chef. Christopher Ahern is Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s nephew.

MORE: LRB frontman eyes cool change in Darlinghurst

Regions COVID-19 has hit hardest

In the mid-1990s Jansz and Kennerley

Low mortgage rates have attracted more buyers to the market—especially first-timers—amid a supply shortage that’s showing no signs of letting up. Meanwhile, prices of expensive homes have risen just 2%.

Prices of the most affordable third of homes in the U.S. climbed 5.5% year over year during the 12 weeks ending May 31, while prices of the most expensive third of homes increased just 2%.

This is according to an analysis that divided all U.S. residential properties into five tiers based on Redfin Estimates of the homes’ market values as of early June. This report focuses on the “bottom” or

Homebuyers paid up to $6 million under the hammer in what was a week of mixed results for Sydney property auctions.

Preliminary results showed nearly 67 per cent of auctions produced a sale over the past week based on 332 declared results.

There were a total 614 auctions – an increase from last week and about 100 more than were held over the same week last year, according to CoreLogic. It was also close to double the volume of auctions scheduled in early May.

MORE: Buyer pays $300k